GILBERT: Big changes are afoot in Waterford

Mark Herne is living proof that you can fight City Hall -- or more precisely, in this case, the Township Hall.

His 11th hour opposition to the special assessment district to help fund Waterford police may have been decisive. The issue failed on a 17,289 to 16,207 vote.

Herne led the effort to distribute 10,000 leaflets criticizing the issue last weekend.

The flyer distributed by the group Waterford Residents for Accountable Politicians, or WRAP, read in part: "We do need to support our police, but in a responsible, less reckless manner. Do not misunderstand -- this new forever tax will be used to bail out the township's reckless budgeting."

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The special assessment district would have cost $95.26 per year -- a fairly modest amount -- for a home with a taxable value of $48,853 and generated about $3.6 million in the first year of collection. If the assessment had been approved, township officials said they would recall laid-off officers and hire 18 to 20 additional ones, as well as restore motor carrier enforcement and a 24-hour detention facility.

The township had 106 sworn officers in 2001 and has 48 today, Police Chief Dan McCaw has said.

Everyone knows Waterford needs more police protection. But now it will be back to the drawing board.

As with most municipalities, Waterford could protect itself more efficiently and probably cheaper by contracting with the Oakland County Sheriff's Department. But there appears to be little desire on the part of the citizenry to pursue that option.

The natives were certainly restless on election day in Waterford. They replaced our three-term incumbent Supervisor Carl Solden with Gary Wall.

They also swept out incumbent Trustees David Kramer, David J. Maloney and Bette O'Shea.

The only trustee re-elected, Anthony Bartolotta, said he was very pleased with the election results.

"We're going to have a real good board," he said. But he acknowledged, "our backs are against the wall. We have to balance the budget by year's end."

He said he would like to see an audit of the township's finances.

"The new people have a chance to make some changes," Herne said. "There need to be some housecleanings."

Herne said elected officials had insufficient knowledge of the police department's budget. None of them, for instance, were checking the department's invoices.

"I've been working on this for 12 years," said Herne, who eschews the idea of running for office himself. This time, he said, "I got a lot more help from other people."

"They think it's their right to have our money," Herne said of township officials. "Actually, it's their privilege and they need to spend it wisely."

Herne said that he hopes to meet with Police Chief Dan McCaw to discuss the department. Increasingly, it is going to have to be citizen watchdogs like Herne who will keep an eye on local officials. The Oakland Press last week sponsored a class for aspiring bloggers, offering tips on how to follow local governmental affairs. Several such bloggers have linked to The Oakland Press website.

The key is asking questions and keeping things simple and understandable. In Herne's case, it was basic mathematics, and to him, things weren't adding up.

Certainly Herne isn't the only individual who was speaking out about the police issue. Supervisor-Elect Wall also opposed it.

"I can't support it," Wall said during the campaign. "The reason I can't support it is from a moral standpoint: I support the police department, but there's too many people that can't afford more taxes. There are people losing their houses, seniors on fixed income, people that can barely afford to feed and clothe their children that they're sending to school."

Wall said the township needs to find the money another way.

"I believe there's other places you can look to trim costs, other than asking taxpayers to finance yet another ... a special assessment district ..."

Now, it will be his problem.

Glenn Gilbert is executive editor of The Oakland Press. Contact him at glenn.gilbert@oakpress.com or 248-745-4587. Follow him on Twitter @glenngilbert2.